Multi-purpose human harness

ABSTRACT

A harness of nylon webbing or similar material consists of a belt having a ring at one end and a snap hook at the other end, a short length of webbing is secured to the belt at an intermediate portion thereof offset toward the end having the ring. A second ring is provided at the end of this short length of webbing for attachment of the belt to a rope either directly or through a snap link. Straps are permanently secured to the belt immediately on either side of the short length of webbing. These straps have snap hooks at their opposite ends. A third ring is connected through a second short length of webbing to an intermediate location on the belt part way between the snap hook at the end of the belt and the locations at which the straps and the first short length of webbing are attached to the belt. This harness may be worn with the belt around the waist and with the straps used as leg straps. Worn this way, it is useful for rappelling, climbing, sliding, and for some rescue purposes. The harness may also be worn around the upper torso with the straps extending over the shoulders and crossed. When worn this way, the harness can be used for rescue purposes, and also as a safety harness for construction workers.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to the art of human harnesses, and in particularto a multi-purpose harness for climbing, rappelling, rescue and thelike. The invention has particular utility in police, fire, rescue andmilitary work and is adapted to be carried at all times by an individualengaged in such activities, and put to use whenever it is needed.

Many examples of harnesses are found in the prior art. For example,Foote U.S. Pat. No. 3,498,408, Hutchinson U.S. Pat. No. 3,973,643 andArancio U.S. Pat. No. 3,738,449 all disclose harnesses of the kind usedby firemen for securing themselves on ladders, for lowering themselvesby means of ropes from high places, and for similar purposes. Theharness disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,738,449 is also described as usefulin rescue for quick removal of persons trapped by fire or otherhazardous situations.

Numerous patents, of which U.S. Pat. No. 481,923 to A. A. Badger is atypical example, describe harnesses for lowering persons from buildingsin the event of fire. The harness in the Badger patent contemplates thesupport of the person to be rescued in a sitting position. Brda U.S.Pat. No. Re. 28,273 describes another rescue harness which is adapted tosupport the victim in a sitting position. Zakely U.S. Pat. No. 2,979,028and Windle U.S. Pat. No. 3,322,102 describe body harnesses adapted tosupport unconscious victims. These harnesses are adapted to be securedsimultaneously to the legs and upper torso of the victim.

Farmer et al. U.S. Pat. No. 2,426,768 describes a typical safety harnessof the type used by construction workers. This harness extends aroundthe upper torso of the body and utilizes shoulder straps.

The harnesses of the prior art, as exemplified by the above-mentionedpatents, are generally useful only for limited purposes. That is, aharness designed for rescue is generally not well adapted for rappellingor sliding. Similarly, a harness adapted for sliding or rappelling isnormally not well-adapted for rescue. Even the harness of the Aranciopatent, while useful for multiple purposes, is not adapted for therescue of unconscious victims, since it contemplates a sitting position,which an unconscious victim cannot maintain.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a harnesswhich is simple and inexpensive in construction, which is compact, andwhich is adapted to perform in a superior manner in a wide variety ofapplications. The harness in accordance with the invention comprises aflexible belt having means for adjusting its length and having means forsecuring its ends together to form a closed loop. The belt is adapted toextend circumferentially around the waist, and is also adapted to extendalternatively around the upper torso of the wearer. A metal ring isprovided, and flexible means, typically a short length of webbing,secures the ring to an intermediate location on the belt, preferablysubstantially offset one side of the point midway between the ends ofthe belt. A first flexible strap is secured at one of its ends to anintermediate location on the belt on one side of the location to whichthe ring is secured. A second flexible strap is secured at one of itsends to an intermediate location on the belt on the opposite side of thelocation to which the ring is secured. Both flexible straps have meansfor adjusting their lengths. Two attachment rings are provided, securedto the belt at locations such that the locations to which the flexiblestraps are secured to the belt are located between the locations towhich the attachment rings are secured. Snap hooks are provided on eachstrap, at the end thereof opposite the end secured to the belt, and areadapted to be removably secured to either one of the attachment rings.

In a preferred form of the harness, one of the attachment rings islocated at an end of the belt, and attaches to a snap hook at the otherend of the belt to form the closed loop, and to one or the other of thesnap hooks at the ends of the straps, depending on the configuration inwhich the harness is to be used.

The harness thus constructed may be worn either with the flexible beltaround the waist and with the first and second straps extendinguncrossed between the legs of the wearer, or alternatively with the beltaround the upper torso and the straps extending over the wearer'sshoulders and crossing each other. When the harness is worn with thebelt around the waist, it can be used for rappelling, climbing, sliding(on an inclined rope), and for the raising and lowering of consciousvictims. When worn with the belt around the upper torso, the harness canbe used to raise and lower unconscious victims, or alternatively as asafety harness, to break the fall of a person working in a dangerouslyhigh location.

The harness is continuously adjustable and can accommodate persons in awide range of sizes. It is tightenable so that it can be made to fitperfectly, an advantage especially important in the raising and loweringof unconscious persons, who would tend to slip out of an imperfectlyfitting harness. It is also adapted for quick removal from the body,which is an especially important advantage when the harness is used tolower rescue workers, military personnel and others from helicopters.

Because of its wide range of possible uses and also by virtue of itsability to be worn by persons in a wide range of sizes, this harness cantake the place of several of the more specialized harnesses of the priorart, thereby reducing the equipment expenditures of law enforcementagencies, fire departments, military units and the like.

Numerous other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparentfrom the detailed description when read in conjunction with thedrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a harness in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the harness showing its configurationwhen worn about the waist of a wearer for such purposes as rappelling,climbing and sliding;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the harness showing its configurationwhen worn about the upper torso and used for the rescue of a victim oras a safety harness;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the harness in use in rappelling;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the harness in use in lowering avictim;

FIG. 6 is a side elevation of a preferred form of a quick-release snaphook used in the harness;

FIG. 7 is a partial section of the snap hook of FIG. 6 shown in its opencondition; and

FIG. 8 is an exploded view showing the details of the attachment betweenthe belt of the harness, its leg straps, and the short length of webbingby which the ring is secured to the belt.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the harness comprises a belt 10. This belt canbe made from various materials, but is preferably made from ahigh-strength woven nylon webbing. Preferably, belt 10 is covered withan asphaltus coating, the purpose of which is to prevent rope frictionfrom damaging the belt or injuring the wearer in rappelling. Belt 10 isprovided at its end 12 with a metal ring 14 secured in a loop formed inthe end of belt 10 by folding the end of the belt over on itself andstitching at 16. Ring 14 is preferably of the type having a triangularopening 18, this type of opening being especially adapted for connectionto a snap hook.

A snap hook is provided at the opposite end of belt 10. Preferably,though not necessarily, snap hook 20 is formed integrally with anadjustment buckle 22 of the conventional type. The belt is fed throughthe adjustment buckle 22, leaving a loose end 24. Adjustment buckle 22readily allows the feeding of the web belt therethrough except whentension is applied, whereupon the buckle tightly grips the beltpreventing further adjustment. The adjustment buckle therefore allowscontinuous adjustment of the length of the belt so that a perfect fitcan be achieved on the body of the wearer. It is very desirable tolocate adjustment buckle 22 so that it adjusts the length of the longportion of the belt extending toward the right of the various leg strapsand attachment means as shown in FIG. 1. With adjustment buckle 22 solocated, the elements such as ring 14, and the leg straps and attachmentmeans remain in a fixed predetermined relationship to one another,insuring that the harness will properly fit individuals of a wide rangeof sizes.

In normal use, snap hook 20 is connected to ring 14 so that the beltforms a closed loop either about the waist or about the upper torso ofthe wearer. Unless otherwise specified herein, the term "belt" should beunderstood to refer to that portion of belt 10 which extends betweenring 14 and snap hook 20. The belt preferably has a maximum length ofabout 125 cm.

Another metal ring 26, which is preferably of the triangular type, likering 14, is secured to an intermediate location on belt 10 by a shortlength 28 of flexible webbing material. Length 28 of webbing material isdesirably about four-six cm. in length, measured from the lower edge 30of belt 10. Length 28 of webbing is securely sewn to the face of belt10, and extends from edge 30 so that a hinge is effectively formed at32. The intermediate location on belt 10 to which ring 26 and flexiblelength of webbing 28 are secured is substantially offset from the pointmidway between the ends of the belt, preferably toward end 12. Typicallythe distance between end 12 of the belt and the point of attachment ofwebbing 28 to the belt is such that with the point of attachmentdirectly in front of the wearer, ring 14 is located approximately at thewearer's side. The distance is typically about twenty six cm.

A first flexible strap 34 is sewn at its upper end to the face of belt10 adjacent and to the left of flexible length 28 of webbing. A snaphook 36 is provided at the lower end of strap 34, and preferably isprovided with an integral adjustment buckle 38 adapted to adjust thelength of strap 34. A similar strap 40 is secured to belt 10 on theopposite side of length 28 of webbing, and is similarly provided with asnap hook 42 and an adjusting buckle 44. These straps typically havemaximum length of about ninety cm.

To the right of strap 40, and spaced therefrom, is a second short lengthof webbing 46 sewn to the face of belt 10 at 48 and provided at itsopposite end with a triangular ring 50. Length 46 of webbing is slightlylonger than length 28, the portion below the lower edge 30 of belt 10being typically about seven cm. in length. It is also preferablyinclined at about a twenty degree angle, as shown, so that its ring 50is somewhat closer to the right-hand end of belt 10 than is location 48.

From FIG. 1 it will be observed that flexible webbing 28 is locatedbetween leg straps 34 and 40, and that leg straps 34 and 40 are, inturn, located between and spaced from rings 14 and 50. Straps 34 and 40are symmetrical about length 28 of webbing, and ring 14 and theattachment means constituted by webbing 46 and ring 50 are substantiallyequidistant from the location at which webbing 26 is attached to belt10, although a minor difference in these distances will not make anyappreciable difference in performance of the harness so long as thestraps fit correctly about the legs (or shoulders) of the wearer.Typically the horizontal distance between the center of webbing 28 andring 14 is twenty six cm., while the horizontal distance between webbing28 and ring 50 is twenty three cm.

When the harness is in use, the snap hooks 36 and 42 cooperate withrings 14 and 50 either in the manner illustrated in FIG. 2 or in themanner illustrated in FIG. 3.

FIG. 2 shows the harness in the configuration in which belt 10 is wornabout the waist, and straps 34 and 40 extend uncrossed between thewearer's legs. This configuration is used for rappelling, climbing,sliding, for lowering persons from and raising persons into helicopters,for rescue, and for various other purposes. Snap hook 42 connects toring 50 so that a loop is formed by leg strap 40, webbing 46, and thelength of belt 10 extending between location 48 and the location towhich strap 40 is connected to the belt. Snap hook 20 is connected toring 14 so that the belt forms a closed loop about the waist. Snap hook36 is also connected to ring 14 so that a loop is formed by strap 34 andthe length of the belt extending between ring 14 and the location atwhich strap 34 is secured to the belt. Ring 14 serves the dual purposeof accommodating snap hook 20 and of accommodating snap hook 36. Theability of ring 14 to serve this dual purpose is brought about in partby the offset relationship of the leg straps with respect to themidpoint of the belt which causes ring 14 to be positioned substantiallyat the side of the wearer. The triangular shape of opening 18 is suchthat snap hook 20 is positioned in one corner of opening 18 while snaphook 36 is positioned in another corner of the opening.

The offset relationship of the leg straps with respect to the midpointof the belt also makes it easy for the wearer to attach and remove theharness quickly, especially since ring 14 is positioned at the side ofthe wearer rather than directly behind his back, and also because ring14 accommodates two of the three snap hooks of the harness. As will bereadily apparent to experienced rescue workers and military personnel,rapid removal of a harness is of the greatest importance in helicopterwork, as a person being lowered from a helicopter can be seriouslyinjured as a result of movement of the helicopter unless he candisengage himself from his harness immediately upon reaching the surfaceonto which he is being lowered.

One manner in which the harness is worn with belt 10 about the waist isillustrated in FIG. 4. The wearer is using the harness for rappelling,and for that purpose a snap link or "Carabiner" ring 52 is connected toring 26, and rappelling rope 54 is wound around the snap link in theusual manner. The harness is a superior rappelling harness, particularlyby virtue of the perfect fit achieved by the continuous adjustability ofthe belt and leg straps, and the ease and rapidity with which it can bedonned and removed.

For "Australian" rappelling, the harness is worn with belt 10 around thewaist, but with ring 26 behind the back. Since rings 14 and 50 are stilllocated at the sides of the wearer when the harness is worn this way,the harness can be attached and removed very readily.

An alternative mode in which the harness can be used is illustrated inFIG. 3, wherein belt 10 extends in a loop around the upper torso of thewearer. Here, the straps 40 and 34 cross each other at 56, and snap hook36 connects to ring 50 while snap hook 42 connects to ring 14. In thisconfiguration, the attachment ring 26 can be positioned either in frontof or in back of the wearer, and the crossing 56 of the straps is on theback of the wearer when ring 26 is on the front, and vice versa. In thisconfiguration, the harness can be used for raising and lowering victims,especially unconscious persons. It is also adapted for use as a safetyharness for construction workers. For rescue purposes, the harness isdesirably positioned so that the ring 26 is in front of the victim asshown in FIG. 5. This causes the rings and snap hooks to be positionedwhere the victim cannot easily reach them. Thus, even though the snaphooks may be of the quick-release type, as will be discussed below, adegree of safety is provided against the accidential (or intentional)disconnection of the snap hooks by a person being rescued.

When the rescue harness is used as a safety harness for constructionworkers and the like, it will normally be worn with ring 26 behind theworker's back, and therefore out of his way so that he can carry on hisactivities without interference. Ring 26 can be connected to a drop linethrough a short line connected to a drop line grabbing device of theconventional type. The ability of belt 10 to be tightened to any desireddegree of tightness about the upper torso is of particular significancewhen the belt is worn in the configuration illustrated in FIG. 3. Belt10 can be adjusted so that it fits sufficiently tightly that the wearercannot slide out of the harness even if unconscious.

The construction and operation of the integrally combined snap hooks andadjustment buckles, of which there are three in the harness of FIG. 1,are illustrated in detail in FIGS. 6 and 7, which show snap hook 20respectively in its closed and opened conditions. Snap hook 20 comprisesa hook 58 which is integrally connected to a rectangular member 60having a rectangular central opening 62 provided with a slidabletransverse locking member 64. As best seen in FIG. 7, belt 10 extendsupwardly through opening 62, where it terminates in loose end 24. Theadjustment buckle operates in the conventional manner. When tension isapplied to belt 10, member 64 moves to the left, and clamps portion 66of the belt against left-hand edge 68 of opening 62. When tension is notapplied, however, the belt can be slid in either direction around member64 without difficulty.

Returning to hook 58, the hook is formed so that an opening is providedat 70 for receiving a portion of ring 14. A spring loaded snap 72cooperates with hook 58 so that opening 70 is completely enclosed. Snap72 is normally held in the position shown in FIG. 6 by spring 74, but ispivotable inwardly about pivot 76 so that the snap hook can be readilyengaged with the ring.

The assembly of snap 72 and spring 74 is supported on a pivotableelement 78, which is normally held in the position shown in FIG. 6 byspring 80. Element 78 is provided with an actuator 82, which can begrasped between the thumb and forefinger, and pulled from the positionshown in FIG. 6 to the position shown in FIG. 7. Element 78 is pivotedat 84, and on the side of pivot 84 opposite actuator 82, element 78includes an extension 86, which serves to push the ring out of opening70 when actuator 82 is pulled. Actuator 82 is held in its normalposition by a spring loaded ball detent 88, which cooperates with asmall hole 90 in ear 92 of the actuator. A similar hole 94 is providedon the opposite ear 96 of actuator 82, and can cooperate with anotherspring loaded ball detent on the opposite side of the snap hookassembly, if one is provided.

In operation, it will be seen that attachment of the snap hook to a ringis accomplished simply by the deflection of snap 72. Removal of the snaphook from a ring is accomplished by grasping the ears of actuator 82,and pulling it to the position shown in FIG. 7. This moves snap 72 outof the way, and simultaneously causes extension 86 to push the ring outof opening 70. In this way, a rapid disengagement of the snap hooks andrings can be accomplished.

Straps 34 and 40 of the harness and length 28 of webbing, which attachesring 26 to belt 10, are desirably formed from a unitary length ofwebbing material as illustrated in FIG. 8. As shown in FIG. 8, thelength of webbing which forms straps 34 and 40 and webbing length 28 iswound one and one-half times around belt 10. A short length of webbingmaterial 98 is also wound one and one-half times around belt 10. Bothlengths of webbing material pass through slot 100 in ring 26, and length98 serves as a reinforcement, providing added security in the attachmentof ring 26 to belt 10.

In assembly, the lengths of webbing are arranged as shown in FIG. 8,then the length of webbing from which straps 34 and 40 are formed istightened to the condition shown in FIG. 1, and positioned so that itcompletely overlaps webbing length 98. The lengths of webbing are thenstitched together to form a unitary harness assembly.

The principal advantage of the construction shown in FIG. 8 is that,even if the stitching connecting the straps 34 and 40 and webbing length28 to the belt fails, ring 28 is still secured by belt 10 by reason ofthe fact that the unitary length of webbing which forms the leg strapsis wound one and one-half times around belt 10.

The multi-purpose harness described above can be readily rolled into acompact form which can be carried, for example, in the pocket of afireman's coat, from which it can be removed quickly and put to anydesired use.

While the preferred form of the invention has been fully described, itshould be understood that numerous modifications or improvements can bemade to the invention without departing from its scope, which is definedby the following claims.

I claim:
 1. A multi-purpose human harness for climbing, rappelling,rescue and the like comprising:a flexible belt adapted to extendcircumferentially around the waist and alternatively around the uppertorso of the wearer, said belt having means for adjusting its length,and having means for removably securing its ends together to form aclosed loop; a metal ring, and flexible means securing said ring to anintermediate location on said belt; a first flexible strap secured atone of its ends to an intermediate location on said belt on one side ofand adjacent the location to which said ring is secured; a secondflexible strap secured at one of its ends to an intermediate location onsaid belt on the opposite side of and adjacent the location to whichsaid ring is secured; a pair of attachment means secured to said belt atlocations such that the locations to which said flexible straps aresecured to said belt are located between the locations to which saidattachment means are secured; means attached to each strap, at the endthereof opposite the end which is secured to the belt, adapted to beremovably secured to either one of said attachment means; and means oneach strap for continuous adjustment of its length through a range suchthat the harness may be worn with said flexible belt around the waistand with said first and second straps extending uncrossed between thelegs and tightened about the legs, and alternatively with said beltaround the upper torso and with said straps crossing each other,extending over the shoulders, and tightened about the shoulders.
 2. Amulti-purpose harness according to claim 1 in which the locations atwhich the flexible straps are secured to the belt are positioned withrespect to the ends of the belt so that, when the belt is worn aroundthe waist, and said metal ring is located directly in front of thewaist, the ends of the belt are connected to each other substantially atthe side of the waist, and in which both attachment means of said pairare secured to the belt on the same side of the means for adjusting thelength of the belt.
 3. A multi-purpose harness according to claim 1 inwhich the locations at which the flexible straps are secured to the beltare positioned with respect to the ends of the belt so that, when thebelt is worn around the waist, and said metal ring is located directlyin front of the waist, the ends of the belt are connected to each othersubstantially at the side of the waist, and in which said means foradjusting the length of the belt is located on the belt to the rear ofthe interconnection between the ends of the belt at a position such thatboth attachment means of said pair are secured to the belt on the sameside of the means for adjusting the length of the belt.
 4. Amulti-purpose harness according to claim 1 in which the locations atwhich the flexible straps are secured to the belt are positioned withrespect to the ends of the belt so that, when the belt is worn aroundthe waist, and said metal ring is located directly in front of thewaist, the ends of the belt are connected to each other substantially atthe side of the waist, in which said means for securing the ends of theflexible belt together comprise a second metal ring at one end of thebelt and snap hook means at the other end of the belt adapted to beremovably connected to the second ring, and in which one of said pair ofattachment means comprises a third metal ring secured to an intermediatelocation on the belt and the other of said pair of attachment means isconstituted by the second metal ring.
 5. A multi-purpose harnessaccording to claim 4 in which both attachment means of said pair aresecured to the belt on the same side of the means for adjusting thelength of the belt.